Augusta, ME – Maine will allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit, a practice called “constitutional carry” by Second Amendment advocates, under a bill signed into law on Wednesday by Republican Governor Paul LePage.
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The measure will make Maine the fifth state to pass a law legalizing the carrying of a handgun, either openly or concealed, without the requirement of a government permit.
Maine joins Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming and Kansas in voting to allow the practice, according to National Rifle Association spokesman Lars Dalseide. Vermont has never required a permit. Arkansas and Montana also allow more limited forms of constitutional carry.
More than a dozen other states have considered similar legislation.
The Maine law will take effect 90 days after the state’s legislature adjourns, which is expected in mid-July.
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right of individuals to own and bear firearms, has limited efforts to pass gun control legislation around the country and has served as the basis for expanding gun rights in many states.
Maine law currently allows gun owners to openly carry a handgun without a permit, but concealed carry requires a background check, a licensing fee, a judgment of “good moral character” and evidence the applicant can handle a gun safely.
Sportsmen’s groups and gun advocates argued the process was too onerous, deterring law-abiding citizens from applying.
Opponents, including Maine Chiefs of Police Association, said rigorous background checks kept weapons out of the hands of felons.
The new law, which passed with broad bipartisan support, would eliminate the permit requirement for any resident over 21 years old who is not already prohibited from owning a firearm.
Active members of the military, and veterans over 18 years of age, would be granted the same privilege.
Maine ranked 21st in firearm deaths per 100,000 population in 2013, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hawaii had the fewest and Alaska the most, the data shows.
Yup, only 30,000 Americans killed by guns annually, according to US CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, including almost 20,000 suicides by gun. I’m sure all gun owners in Maine are all part of a well regulated militia, as written in the Constitution 2nd Amendment. Gevalt.
1. The 2nd Amendment refers to every individual American’s right to keep and bear arms. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the Supreme Court (Vide Heller v District of Columbia).
.2. The CDC has as much standing to discuss this issue as does the ASPCA.
3. Unlicensed, concealed carry has been the law in nearby Vermont basically forever. Notice the frequency of “gun deaths” in Vermont.
P.S. The 2nd Amendment also specifically refers to weapons suitable for military use (Vide SCOTUS, United States v Miller).
They just got an influx of somali muslims.. I’d say this is cautionary at best..
Terrorist wannabes are rejoicing.
The statistics on gun deaths are severely flawed. First of all, suicides shouldn’t be a reason to bash guns – it’s silly to think that a people only commit suicide because they have access to a gun, and wouldn’t jump off a roof, overdose on painkillers, or cut themselves in a bathtub. Second, it doesn’t distinguish justifiable homicide from murder or accidental deaths. Justifiable homicide means someone was about to get raped or killed and the criminal got shot first. Thank God someone had a gun. The 30,000 figure is liberally thrown around for shock value by, well, liberals.
Since the 1890’s every State and many, if not most municipalities have enacted GUN CONTROL laws. Does that mean that they were “liberals”, or against the Constitution? No country comes close to the amount of firearms we have, and the resulting carnage has created war-zone statistics. A comparison of the CDC to the ASPCA by a poster shows the inattention to the respect that institution has globally regarding its research & stats. Blame shifting gun violence (oh yeah there are over 150,000 victims wounded but not killed by guns annually) onto liberals, criminals, mentally ill, etc. are issue dodges. No sane society needs high powered assault rifles, handguns and armor piercing weapons on the streets. Unless you are in a well regulated militia figting Indians on the frontier, in 1780.